


The Blue Sky

by MohnblumenKind



Series: the White Eagle and the White Knight [1]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Angst, Childhood Friends, Historical Hetalia, M/M, Partitions of Poland, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Unrequited Love, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-04-30 22:01:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14506371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MohnblumenKind/pseuds/MohnblumenKind
Summary: Poland is caught in the partitions, but his mind escapes to the past, to his Commonwealth, to Lithuania. Or even further back when he had met the small white haired boy that had changed so much.





	The Blue Sky

**Author's Note:**

> The italic parts are the current time-line, meaning the 19th century, during the third Polish partition. The other parts are Poland's memories and since he somehow feels that they are more real than the current reality, they are not in italic.  
> The parts are not in a chronological order. I give the historic background in the end, but if it gets still too confusing, I tried to add the correct order below, too. I thought Poland would not remember his memories chronological and his awakening hours are not structured either, therefore this intentional chaos.

_Prussia towered in the darkness above him. Poland laid at the cold floor, curled up into a tiny ball. “Leave me alone,” the blond spat in Polish._  
_“I won't. And do not talk to me in that language,” came the prompt answer, in German of course. Nonetheless, Poland felt a feeling of triumph shoot through him since the other just had admitted to understand him._  
_“And, like, your ugly tongue is any better?” Poland tried, still in his mother-tongue. It was a lame answer, he knew, but with a spinning head it was hard to concentrate on formulating coherent sentences. A blow made him gasp for air._  
_“That is not a well-versed argument,” Poland continued anyway. He was not known to make smart decisions as far as avoiding conflict goes._  
_Prussia grabbed his blond hair, forcing his head back. Tears formed in Poland's eyes from the pull, but he clenched his teeth, forcing them back. He would not cry, at least not now, not with Prussia still here. The albino brought their faces together, so close that the blond could feel his breath ghosting over his skin._  
_“Do. Not. Talk,” Prussia hissed, his voice dangerously low._  
_Poland just looked at him and then spat. He hold his breath and praised God for the impossible luck that he had actually hit Prussia's cheek. The next second his head met concrete floor and pain exploded behind his eyes. Maybe that had been another bad idea of his, but he did not care. It was worth it._  
_Memories of better days flooded his mind…_  
  
Bright sun and yellow fields filled his vision, warmed his face. He could feel the soft wind from the Baltic Sea, see the green meadows of Galicja, hear the laughter in Wilno, could smell the spices and various goods in Poznań, could almost taste the warm summer sun kissing his lips.  
He had heard Russia talk about Łódź. There was textile industry there now, and he imagined how much the small city must have changed, how it had to smell of chemicals and soap in the streets, how people – his children – filled the city with life and noise.  
He wondered how life in Kraków was. It harboured his oldest university and most of his kings rested there. They would weep for him if they could see him now, he thought.  
But most of all, he remembered Warszawa. The city had been his heart, the pulsating lifeline in the centre of his land…  
  
_He could feel Russia's hand pressing against his throat and his lungs burned, deprived from air. It was enough pressure to set his body on fire, but not enough to grant him the bliss of unconsciousness._  
_“I do not like your attitude,” Russia explained. He had been rambling for seemingly an endless time. About how he disliked Poland's habits, his clothes, his bluntness, his carelessness – when was the last time I have been carefree? Poland wondered. He tried to remember, but his mind came up with nothing._  
_“At least Lithuania is better than you are,” Russia continued and suddenly Poland remembered. He remembered his friend, his kind partner…_  
  
The sun shone and painted the world in warm colours around him…  
  
_Poland was no fool, he did not think that every day there had been blue sky, but his memories always pretended that this had been the case. Maybe that was because his mind tried not to forget how the sun looked? He did not know._  
  
He was sitting in a field, surrounded by flowers, the warm sun shone on his face.  
  
_He remembered this field, this day… He felt his lung longing for air… Finally, he fell happily into the memory._  
  
Lithuania stood a couple of feet away, tying the fresh wheat. His sleeves were tucked up due to the hard work and the temperature. Poland had helped him for a while but then decided that it was way too warm to work properly. Instead, he had settled to watch Lithuania. The sun warmed his back and painted his friend – newly-wed husband, Poland corrected himself – in a warm hue. It suited him and Poland lost himself in tracing Lithuania's form. The brunette seemed content and very concentrated on his task and Poland asked himself for a second whether his slacking off would go unnoticed, but he dismissed this thought. Lithuania was always hard-working and concentrated, but he was also caring and very attentive. He usually was just too polite or considerate to indulge Poland's every whim. Even though not being able to get his way frustrated the blond, he secretly liked the kindness and seriousness of his partner – the word husband was still too strange – and was not sure whether he should hope that Lithuania knew this, or not.  
Smiling, the Pole closed his eyes and leaned his head back so the sun could warm his face. The warmth glowed red trough his closed eyelids. He tried to formulate an excuse to get Lithuania to sit next to him. He liked plotting, even though he thought that he might just have to ask nicely. But that would be too boring, wouldn't it?  
The perfect idea crossed his mind and with enthusiastic diligence he started to work on his project.  
“Liet?” Poland asked softly, a couple of minutes later.  
Lithuania immediately looked up and met his eyes. Poland liked this attentiveness. He rewarded it with his brightest smile. It worked exactly as intended: The other man blushed slightly.  
“Come here,” Poland said, clapping the spot next to him.  
Lithuania seem to consider the demand. “I will be done in a couple of minutes,” he announced, his hands already working again, his attention shifting from the Pole back to his work.  
That would not be an option, Poland decided.  
“Liet, please. I have something for you,” he announced sweetly.  
Lithuania looked back up and then at the wheat in his hands. With a soft sigh he placed it down and moved towards the Pole.  
He stood in front of him, a questioning look on his face.  
Poland smiled encouragingly and nodded towards the spot again.  
Finally, Lithuania lowered himself next to Poland. Their tights brushed and Poland had to suppress a pleasant shiver. He liked how the other had started to be more familiar and even _touchy_ recently. He knew that this was not appropriate according to the Christian doctrine and his bishops would frown at him, but for once he decided that he did not care. Lithuania was very kind and considerate for a heathen, so Poland figured that maybe his religious rules did not apply to the other nation.  
Lithuania's soft and expectant gaze did not help to calm the butterflies in his stomach either.  
Just when the brunette coughed softly, Poland was reminded that he had stared at the other.  
Blushing and immediately acting joyous to divert the other from his mishap, he pulled out the gift he just made: A bright girdle of flowers.  
Lithuania looked at the flowers surprised.  
“For you,” Poland insisted rather obviously.  
When Lithuania continued to look at the gift without a word, Poland continued, encouragingly: “I like the flowers. They are so colourful. And… since I like you, too, I thought to give them to you.”  
That might not have been his best attempt on a confession and would not qualify as good literature, but it sufficed the purpose: Lithuania smiled and blushed even and did extent his hand towards the present.  
“Thank you, Po,” he said softly, using the nickname Poland had demanded, but he rarely complied.  
Their hands touched when Lithuania retrieved the girdle and Poland felt his breath hitching. The brunette crowned himself with the colourful flowers and Poland smiled happily at the sight. Swiftly, Lithuania picked another bright red flower and tucked it softly behind Poland's right ear. His hand steadied Poland's chin while doing so, but didn't leave afterwards. Poland was surprised by the action but didn't dare to move since that might result in the other retreating. Instead, due to the lingering hand, he felt a blush rising in his cheeks again and hoped he could somehow justify it with an upcoming sunburn.  
A kiss placed softly at his lips made him dismiss all other thoughts.  
  
_Sometimes, when the darkness or pain was overwhelming, he tried to pray. The well-known words left his lips, the familiar verses giving him a feeling of security. The boot that met his nose unmasked it as a false security. The pain indicated a broken nose and he could taste chopper in his mouth. His lips continued to form the prayers voicelessly, uninterrupted and irresistible._  
  
He remembered the first day he had met Prussia. The kingdom had been called the Teutonic Order back then. He had been a small boy with his white hair, skin and clothes that had lounged around and had watched him from afar. Until one sunny day, he had come up to Poland, asking to get a share of his bread. As a good Christian the blond had immediately done so. The other boy had been incredible thankful. When seeing that Poland was hurt, the albino had offered comfort and some colourful insults towards the heathens up at the Baltic Sea. The swearing had been almost adorable coming from such a young boy.  
When the attacks from the foreign tribes did not stop, Poland had called the albino for help and had offered him a place to stay, a home even, as a reward. The other boy had first hesitated, but then eagerly agreed. He had been homeless for quite a time. Poland had thought himself to be a good Christian, he had been proud of himself.  
He had forgotten that pride was a sin that came with a prize.  
  
_Occasionally, Poland spat spiteful words to infuriate his oppressors, but more often, he just imagined them, played them out in his head while being alone in the dark. In his head the conversations went always better than in reality. His insults would hurt the others, made them stop. In reality, his words did none such things._  
_They made Russia laugh softly, demonstrating his superiority with dismissing even Poland's insults as unimportant and weak. And Austria usually sighed, scolding him like a naughty child and pretending to be the noble man he showed the world. Poland's insults did indeed manage to arise Prussia's anger, but that just resulted in more violence that silenced his words and in the end even his thoughts. If he was lucky, he could escape into his mind …_  
  
“I don't like him,” the albino sulked. Poland looked up, confused for a second.  
“He's a heathen, I think he eats children,” the Teutonic Order continued, his voice full with childish defiance. Poland shrieked.  
“Don't be so gross!” he scolded the other boy.  
“Who knows what these heathens do?” the albino continued determined.  
“I have no idea, but I honestly doubt that Lithuania eats babies,” the blond boy clarified.  
“And why do you think so, almighty and all-knowing Lord?” the Teutonic Order asked, his voice full with childish mock.  
  
_When they had been kids it had been the friendly kind of mockery, Poland remembered. With smiling eyes and a lopsided smirk. Not the scorn and hate he received nowadays…_  
  
“Don't commit blasphemy!” Poland squealed. “He is just not the type for eating babies. He is way too kind and shy for this. Who does that anyway?!” he clarified. “And don't talk bad about people you don't know, that's unchristian,” he added.  
The Teutonic Order rolled his eyes.  
“And what good is it to talk nice about someone you don't know either?” he said recalcitrant.  
Poland decided not to answer that. The albino was just antagonising him. He did that to an increasing degree recently. There was no doubt that not judging strangers harshly would be the right thing to do, it didn't matter whether the other was Christian or not. Lithuania had never done him any harm. They hadn't talked yet either, to be honest, but that was besides the point.  
  
_He remembered the pale albino clearly. They had shared food and land and when General Winter occasionally came all the way from Siberia to haunt the lands further west, they had shared a bed and blanket to keep warm. Growing up had definitely made the boy a worse person, Poland thought as he knelt on the floor, in complete darkness, wiping blood from his nose, willing down the pain. But Lithuania would probably disagree, he never thought the albino had been anything but the devil …_  
  
“I don't like him,” Lithuania softly said. It was unlike him to voice his opinion so openly, but Poland thought that showed the trust they shared by now, after being formally married.  
“Yeah, he is a whirlwind and can get on ones nerves,” Poland said diplomatically.  
Lithuania looked at him with his green eyes full of emotion and kept silent.  
Poland felt uneasy under the gaze, so he wiggled with his toes. That did divert Lithuania's attention for a second, but he received a frown instead.  
“He is not a mere whirlwind, he is a dangerous nuisance,” the brunette rejected, clearly not in the mood to be deceived. When Poland tried to disagree, Lithuania continued. “Look Po, he is not loyal. He has attacked you more than once, even though he had promised you devotedness. You are his liege lord!”  
Poland twisted a blond strand of hair between his fingers and did not answer. The warm sun made it gleam like gold. Lithuania did not continue to talk, so they fell silent.  
“He's been my friend,” Poland simply said after a while. Lithuania only commented that with a glare. He obviously did not deem someone a friend that did fight the other occasionally, that demanded more and more land and was not willing to offer any respect for others.  
“He has helped me more than once. Without him I might not have survived the attacks,” the blond whispered, his eyes fixed at his hair to avoid Lithuania's judging look. He did not know how to explain his attachment towards the white haired boy. They had known each other for quite a long time, had shared their sparse resources and land. The Teutonic Order had protected him when he had been alone, struggling to survive. Despite of all his love for Lithuania and all the misconducts of the albino he would not dismiss that history.  
When Lithuania did not answer, Poland finally tore his eyes from his hands and met Lithuania's. They were softer now, full of care, full of love. Maybe he understood.  
“Just be cautious,” the Lithuanian said softly.  
“Mmmh,” Poland voiced vaguely, loosing himself in those green eyes.  
  
_… pray for us sinners,_  
_now and at the hour of our death._  
_Amen._  
_Hail Mary, full of grace,_  
_the Lord is with thee._  
_Blessed art thou amongst women,_  
_and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus._  
_Holy Mary, Mother of God,_  
_pray for us sinners,_  
_now and at the hour of our death._  
_Amen._  
_Hail Mary, full of grace,_  
_the Lord is with thee._  
_Blessed art thou amongst women…_  
  
Poland was kneeling. The last accords of the organ played and the church was clearing. He felt Lithuania on his right side behind him, sitting at the bench. The other had never complained, but always observed the services and Poland's prayers with silent looks. They were not judging, at least not openly, but did not elict approval either. He had been approving and even praised the Pole yesterday, when he had been doing surprisingly well in their sword-fight... Poland noticed his straying thoughts and he forced them back to the rosary. He felt slightly guilty for his negligence. “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners,” his lips formed the well-known words without much help. He felt Lithuania move besides him and his focus shifted completely to the brunette again. Poland refrained from cursing – _that_ would be even more inappropriate – and continued with his prayer. “Now and at the hour of our death. Amen.”  
He crossed himself and got up, turning towards the Lithuanian. As suspected the other still sat at the assigned place, his green eyes focussed on his husband.  
“I never get the part with the sinners,” the brunette stated quietly, a questioning look on his face.  
“So, like, you never did anything wrong?” Poland asked, his brows rose in surprise, his voice full of doubt.  
Lithuania seemed to ponder on this thought for a moment and then shook his head softly.  
“I have,” he stated simply.  
Poland was tempted to ask further but reminded himself that it was not up to him to judge or pry. That would not be proper behaviour, it was the Lord himself who judged, not his followers. Lithuania continued anyway.  
“I guess I just don't get the definition of a sin. Or the trinity or that transubstantiation-thing. That is really scary,” Lithuania stated, his lips pressed together in thought.  
Poland sighed. It seemed to be a lot of work to introduce his husband into Christianity.  
“The transubstantiation is not that hard. It is just the change of essence by which the bread and wine offered in the sacrifice of the sacrament of the Eucharist during the Mass, become, in reality, the body and blood of Jesus...”  
“So you eat baby-Jesus?” the Lithuanian stated, looking disbelievingly at the other.  
Poland had to suppress a chuckle.  
“What's this with everyone claiming others eat babies?” he announced softly, almost humored, more to himself than to Lithuania.  
  
_Often, it was Prussia who visited him in his awakening hours in the dark room, sometimes it was Russia. Occasionally, it was Austria. It did not matter, it was all the same to him._  
_Austria usually brought him food._  
_“Such a pity,” the empire sighed. “You are making so much more trouble than you are worth.”_  
_The bread became stuck in Poland's mouth. He coughed slightly._  
_“Then leave me be!” he demanded forcefully._  
_The other man sighed again. “Tut-tut,” he said, as if talking to a particular dumb child. “That would be a bad idea, wouldn't it?” Austria stated directed at the blond, but obviously not really caring whether the other listened or not. “Russia's Pan-Slavism has to be controlled.”_  
_But why do I have to pay the price? Poland asked himself. He did not like Russia's idea of an united Slavic land either. All he wanted was to be free again, to see the sun._  
_“I have no idea how you managed to live like that,” the empire continued, interrupting his thoughts. “The people have barely enough food and there is basically nothing. It is so backwards.” He shook his head, as if these things were unbelievable, wrinkling his nose with distaste._  
_“If you loath me so much then let me be,” Poland spat again._  
_That resulted in a slap in his face._  
_“Don't be so insubordinate!” Austria scolded him, his voice sharp. “Be grateful for what you get! It is far more than you deserve.”_  
  
Lithuania and him were farming most of the days. It was true, they did not have much back then. But it had been enough. His husband was hard-working and conscientious, with his planning they mostly fared well. They were able to sell their wheat to the ships that came to their harbours and when they finished a hard day of work, they would lie beneath the blue sky, watching the afternoon sun. Back then he had thought that this had been enough to live.  
  
_“I thought I raised you better,” Poland stated, softly touching his arm to test whether it was broken or not. It hurt, but seemed fine for now._  
_“You tried to kill me!” Prussia spat, his crimson eyes narrow and full with fury. Poland did not avert his gaze. He imagined to see betrayal and hurt in them, too, but maybe he projected his own emotions into the other. After all, he surely became insane here._  
_“I did not- “ Poland started, but was cut of by a blow. So typical of Prussia to not let him finish talking._  
_“You don't even remember! You are a hypocrite!” the albino fumed._  
_That was not true. Poland did remember. Years ago, as if in another life, he had claimed that the albino had no right to exist after all heathens at the seaside were conquered and Lithuania had finally converted, too. The Teutonic Order had still rambled around, bellicose as always. It had unsettled Poland's peace and since the Order had achieved its purpose, it had become unnecessary and a noisy hindrance. Prussia was no nation or country back then, so Poland did not think that this qualified as a murder attempt anyway._  
_Obviously, the albino disagreed._  
  
“Why are you hanging out with him anyway?” the Teutonic Order asked Poland cheekily.  
“Why not?” Poland answered, shrugging his shoulders. “I like him,” he clarified.  
“But he's a heathen!” the albino sighed exasperated. They had talked about this topic already more than once. Poland gave his vassal a stern look. He would not talk about this again.  
The Teutonic Order seemed to get his intention and made a big show of sulking around. Poland did observe him for a while. Then he plucked up courage.  
“Look, please try to get along with Lithuania,” the blond asked softly.  
The Teutonic Order looked up from where he had drawn meaningless circles into the mud, his eyes now questioning.  
“I am going to marry him, so please try to be friendly,” Poland told the albino.  
The crimson eyes flew open, utterly surprised.  
“But _why_?!” he whined.  
“What why?” Poland asked in defiance upon the reaction. “I have no male heir, that's only logical.” He had not expected that he would need to justify his actions to his subordinate.  
When the other still looked at him with accusation visible all over his face, Poland continued, now harsher “Like, what else am I supposed to do?”  
The albino was silent for a second. His eyes fell to his hands in his lap, then they returned to Poland.  
“You could marry me,” he said with a very small voice, barely audible.  
Poland laughed. That was an hilarious idea. Lithuania was a grand duchy, which meant that he would already marry beneath his possibilities. But a religious order? His liege? That was stupid.  
When he looked at the albino again, he could see him avoiding his gaze, the cheeks coloured in a bright red, teeth biting his lips. Poland tried to sober, realising that maybe this was not the best reaction he had displayed. He opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by the other boy who sharply looked up, his red eyes narrowed.  
“Be happy!” the albino announced, and then stormed off. It somehow sounded more like a threat than a congratulation.  
  
_Poland sat in darkness, completely alone. He did not know whether he liked the solitude or loathed it. It felt like being buried alive, but company usually meant pain. To distract himself he formed words, so that he would hear a voice. He liked his language. Poetry used not to be his favourite past time, but recently it had become a way to remember himself, to calm down and to occupy his mind with something other than the pain._  
  
“No!” Poland screamed. He tried to get a hold of Lithuania's hand, but was hurled back by Austria who had gripped his wrist. He wrestled himself free and tried to follow Russia. Suddenly, his head was forcefully yanked back. He squealed and struggled against Prussia, who had his hands in his hair.  
“Stop being so difficult,” Prussia hissed, tightening his grip. Poland did not think to obey and doubled his effort to break free.  
A kick against his shin made him stumble. He cursed and tried to catch his balance, but in vain. He fell under Prussia's weight pressing him down. His cheek was pressed into the soft mud, Prussia's hand was still in his hair, pressing his head down, the knees jabbed his back. Poland let his body go limp to avoid more pressure. Prussia seemed to be pleased because the weight was withdrawled partly. The Pole used this immediately and bucked up, catching the albino with surprise. Poland rolled to his back, throwing the other off in the process. But he did not manage to get up, Prussia was faster, a kick made Poland twist and distracted him. He closed his eyes for a second when nausea hit him. Opening them again sun burned in his eyes and Prussia leaned above him, his dark shadow filling his vision.  
  
_“You are an egoistic bastard,” Poland hissed. He reverted to insults again since physical force was no use against the stronger nation._  
_Prussia was standing in front of him, his crimson eyes narrowing. “Everyone is. At least I am honest, unlike the rest of you,” he stated as a matter of fact, unusually calm._  
_It caught the Pole off guard, because the insult was intended to enrage the albino and not giving him an opportunity to portray himself as a saint._  
_Besides, that was not true. Not everyone was egoistic. Poland remembered Lithuania…_  
  
Lithuania looked at him, warm sun painting a halo around him, his green eyes full of love…  
  
_Poland remembered them being together, he remembered his husband being modest and careful. He shook his head, disagreeing with the Prussian._  
_“No, you are a true narcissist. You don't love anyone and therefore, no one will ever love you either,” Poland said quietly. The volume did not matter, Prussia would hear him either way since they were watching each other cautiously anyway._  
_But the other nation was silent. His crimson eyes were wide with emotion._  
  
The crimson eyes of the Teutonic Order flew open, utterly surprised and slightly accusing…  
  
_Then, almost softly, Prussia said “you don't know what love is.”_  
_The soft tone was starting, it almost felt like one of their arguments back when they had been kids. When they had argued just to disagree and then sulked until one of them came back, snuggling up to the other – not quite apologizing, that was not how they worked, but forgiving each other nonetheless. Except that this time it was a completely different situation, Poland being hurt and beyond forgiveness and Prussia towering above him, head held high, looking down on him._  
_The blond did not know how to react to the atmosphere and was at a loss for words for a moment._  
_Prussia turned sharply on his heels, leaving the small dark room._  
_The door fell heavily into place, the locks clicked._  
_Poland was left in darkness again._  
_“I know what love is,” the blond whispered defiantly in Polish. He loved his God and Lithuania and neither would be banished from his thoughts._

**Author's Note:**

> The chronological order of Poland's memories (the numbers are the not italic blocks):  
> 1 is about the Commonwealth, in the early 18th century (the Commonwealth: 1569–1795). 2 is either the late 14th century or early 15th century, when they started to get to know each other. 3 is the first one: Poland asked the Teutonic order for help in 1209. 4 has to be somewhere in the early 14th century (and part 5 belongs to it). 6 is after the Polish-Lithuanian marriage and maybe after they fought Prussia (1410), meaning in the early 16th century. 7 might be around the same time or a bit earlier in the 15th century. 8 is generally about the Commonwealth, in the 17th century. 9 is directly in 1386 (the Commonwealth and their marriage is not the same). 10 is the third partition in 1795.  
> 
> 
> * * *
> 
> Partitions: The partitioning powers were Prussia, Russia and Austria who occupied the Polish areas in 1795.
> 
> Language: Prussia tired to Germanise its Polish areas, so since 1873 school classes where only held in German and in 1876 and 1877 there followed more language laws (German for magistrates and the justice system, for example).
> 
> Lithuania and Russia: Lithuania was incorporated into Russia due to the partitions. Some Polish areas under Russian control stayed a kingdom nominally with some kind of autonomy until 1831, but then the last freedom was stripped away, too.
> 
> Blue sky: Polish people were idealising the Commonwealth a lot, hence the sunshine in all the memories.
> 
> Praying: Poland was and is a very religious country. Being catholic is part of the national identity for the Polish people, so together with the language this was their most cherished “possession” that they tried to save from their occupants.
> 
> The first meeting with Prussia: The demand for help was in 1209 and in 1226 the Order agreed. I am pretty sure that Prussia's famous diary would give you a completely different description of how they have met. It might look like this:  
> “Today, I was walking around (after Hungary, that idiot, kicked me out), until this dude Poland run up to me, begging me to save him from the savage heathens that had nearly killed him. He could not even offer me any reward, so he said I should keep whatever land I was able to conquer from the enemy. What a cheap fu*k. Anyway, I did as told and was able to save the princess!”  
> Not wanting to say that either side describes what happened better, just keep in mind that this fanfic is very one sided due to the point of view!
> 
> Prussia and Lithuania: Since the Teutonic Order was called to help against the heathens (mainly the historic “old Prussians”, a Baltic tribe), it fought the Lithuanian heathens as well.
> 
> Poland and Lithuania: The Commonwealth started in 1569 since the ruling dynasty ceased to exist, but the marriage of the Polish queen-king to the Lithuanian Grand Duke was already in 1386.
> 
> Eating babies: Somehow that is a common accusation. Romans claimed Christians to do this since they have the transubstantiation and in the middle ages Christians claimed the Jews were consumating the blood of Christian boys. Cannibalism, more over towards kids, seemed to be a gruel topic. Lithuania doesn’t confuse this because of prejudices but because he had seen pictures of saints receiving the host and this is often depictured with a baby-Jesus instead of bread. So he is just observative and very confused.
> 
> Austria and Poland: The Habsburgs did govern Galicia during the partition time which they thought as being backwards and almost Asian, with mainly poor peasants and a wide rage of different ethnics. Therefore, it was almost treated with the kind of superiority the empires used to display during that time in their colonies. (The image of the superior European versus the uncivilised native tribe).
> 
> Killing the Teutonic Order: That's a little exaggeration, but hey, it's Hetalia! The Council of Constance decided to revoke the right of the Teutonic Order to proselytise Lithuania, which basically destroyed its right to exist (around 1418).
> 
> Liege lord: Polish-Teutonic relations are complicated and changed with the years, but most of the time until the late 17th century, the Teutonic Order and later Prussia was a vassal of the Polish kingdom (since 1466). Nonetheless, this vassal was often quite traitorous and went to battle with Poland more than once.
> 
> Literature: That's a hint to the “Organic Work”. Since the violent uprisings did not work out well, the Poles started to focus on their language, education, literature and culture (since the middle of the 19th century) to preserve their national identity without “useless” and destructive revolts against the partioning powers.
> 
> If you want to see more of Poland and the Teutonic Order growing up together, look here: [Once in a Winter Night](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16953384). It's kind of a spin-off.


End file.
